Dallas Gauntlet: Smith explodes

DUNCANVILLE, Tex. -- This year, Adidas has switched up how they run their grassroots circuit. Instead of one spring showcase event and a few in the summer, they have created the Adidas Gauntlet with multiple spring stops and league play before summer finals in Las Vegas. Sunday, five-star sophomore Dennis Smith stole the show at the Dallas Gauntlet, but he wasn't the only major talent in the gym.

Smith's uprising

When Rivals.com updated the class of 2016 rankings in late March, Dennis Smith entered the rankings as a five-star prospect and the No. 16 player in the country. There is no question that the 6-foot-2 point guard from Fayetteville (N.C.) Trinity Christian is a worthy five-star.

After watching Smith destroy a very talented Dream Vision squad while racking up 37 points, seven assists and six rebounds in an 87-76 win for his Team Loaded squad, it is pretty likely that a ranking of No. 16 wasn't near aggressive enough.

Simply put, Smith looks like a monster talent at the point guard position and a pretty good argument can be made that he should be considered the top point guard in his class. Taking things a step further, if Smith continues to play like he did during the Dallas Gauntlet stop, he will push for the national top five in 2016.

One of the most aggressive drivers in high school basketball regardless of class, Smith has an electric first step and is a beast off the dribble. He reads high ball-screens, changes directions and once he's past the first line of defense, he uses his superfluous athleticism to finish over much larger players in traffic. Smith is lean but already strong, has range past the three-point line, earns trips to the foul line and gives defenders little rest with his attack-mode mentality.

Because he is such an aggressive and attacking player, Smith commits some unnecessary turnovers and takes risks. With time and seasoning, though, there's no reason to think that he won't develop more polish as he matures.

Smith listed offers from Charlotte, VCU and N.C. State and mentioned he has started to hear from Duke, North Carolina and Louisville. New Wake Forest coach Danny Manning was watching him closely on Sunday and Wake will be offering as well. Most likely, many more high-level programs will join the fray after last weekend's action.

For his part, Smith said that he feels like he can get to the basket against any defense. He also felt the work he's been putting in would allow him to shine, so he's not surprised that he played so well on a big stage.

"I think I knew that it was going to happen," Smith said of the attention he's starting to receive. "They say what's done in the dark will come out in the light, I just didn't think it would happen so soon."

Adams impresses

Much like Dennis Smith, 2015's Jalen Adams is an athletic and aggressive guard who has a motor that doesn't quit. The product of Ashburnham (Mass.) Cushing Academy wasn't forcing his offense for Mass Rivals on Sunday, but the 6-foot-1 guard who ranks No. 27 in the class of 2015 was in total control of the game whenever he was on the floor in the Rivals' 66-50 win over New Orleans Elite.

A gifted scorer with a big-time first step and loads of confidence, Adams is more combo guard than true point guard. But, he sees the court very well and if his teammates get open, he will find them. On Sunday, Adams had six assists with zero turnovers and was pretty efficient with his minutes.

A marked man because his name has gotten out as a top prospect, Adams doesn't feel any extra pressure to perform at a high level.

"Not at all, I don't feel any pressure," Adams said. "It's still just playing basketball. I can do that."

On the recruiting front, Adams said that he felt there were four programs that are starting to put the most effort into his recruitment.

"Creighton, Connecticut, Georgia Tech and Kansas," said Adams when asked who was recruiting him the most aggressively. "Those four are coming at me real hard right now, probably more than anybody else."

Adams also listed offers from Providence, Rhode Island and Kansas State and said that he'd like to move towards finalizing things by the end of th summer. Many observers have felt that UConn and Kevin Ollie will be tough to beat -- especially coming off of a national championship -- and Adams said that Ollie has his full attention.

"He's really cool," said Adams. "I like him a lot. He's been there at the highest level before and knows what it takes for a player to get there."

Brown getting better

When you are already ranked No. 11 overall in your class, there's not a lot of room for upward movement. Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler's Jaylen Brown is working hard to make his way up the list, though. Playing with his Game Elite squad, the 6-foot-7 small forward was the talk of the Dallas Gauntlet after torching anybody who got in his way on Friday and Saturday. Sunday wasn't quite as dominant a day for Brown and he struggled a bit with turnovers, but his confidence and alpha dog mentality were quite evident.

There was a point during his junior season where Brown looked to be settling too easily for jumpers based on film study. Now, he is using his power and athleticism to get to the rim and he's being very smart about when to shoot jumpers. He will get physical and is an explosive finisher in transition.